scholarly journals Politics Without Meso-Level? No Politics at the Meso?

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilona Pálné Kovács
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Meso Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Interest Representation ◽  
Hungarian Case ◽  
The Impact

The paper examines the role of meso-level governance in the Hungarian political system focusing on the county self-governments. The objective of the author is to introduce the consequences of the lack of meso-level politics for the backslide of the democratic system. The paper focusing on Hungarian counties seeks to explore the three-decade-long process leading to the progressive elimination of these bodies from the public power arena. The Hungarian case demonstrates how the overall administrative and political centralisation process has contributed to the hollowing-out of meso-level political actors. The Hungarian case study underlines the complex interrelations between the macro-political system, and the territorial political governmental arenas from the aspect of the centre and periphery power relations. Many European regional governments are not only platforms for territorial interest representation but also a counterweight to the central level contributing to the quality and stability of democratic governance. The study reviewing the situation of Hungarian counties draws on the author’s previous empirical research experiences and is a part of the ongoing research on governance issues of peripheral areas1. The results of the analyses discuss the implications of the hollowing-out of county governments on the electoral and party system, the modification of the institutional channels of interest representation. The Hungarian example appears to corroborate the analogy with the theory of second order elections. The theory of second order elections recognized the impact on the turnout and electoral preferences based on the changing role of different governance levels, by the same token, it seems that the weakening power position of the meso contributes to the decline of political competition and publicity by minimizing the interest of the public in general. The objective of the present study is to enrich the assessment of the relationship between territorial governance and democracy with some analytical options by demonstrating the implications of the “second order nature” of the meso.

OBJECTIVES AND FUNCTIONS OF LOBISTRY ACTIVITY IN UKRAINE: REALITIES TODAY AND EVOLUTIONARY FORECAST

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 329-339
Author(s):  
Tikhon Sergeyevich Yarovoy
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political System ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Public Interests ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Events ◽  
The Developed Countries ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Industrial Groups

The article is devoted to the research of goals and functions of lobbying activity. The author has processed the ideas of domestic and foreign scientists, proposed his own approaches to the definition of goals and functions of lobbying activities through the prism of public administration. As a result, a generalized vision of the goals and functions of lobbying activities as interrelated elements of the lobbying system was proposed, and a forecast for further evolution of the goals and functions of domestic lobbying was provided. The analysis of lobbying functions allowed us to notice the tendencies in shifting the goals of this activity. If the objectives were fully covered by functions such as mediation between citizens and the state, the information function and the function of organizing plurality of public interests, then the role of strengthening the self-organization of civil society and the function of compromise become increasingly important in the process of formation in the developed countries of civil society and the development of telecommunication technologies. Ukrainian lobbyism will not be left to the side of this process. Already, politicians of the highest level, leaders of financial and industrial groups have to act, adjust their goals (even if they are — declared), taking into account the reaction of the public. In the future, this trend will only increase. The analysis of current research and political events provides all grounds for believing that, while proper regulatory legislation is being formed in Ukraine, the goals and functions of domestic lobbying will essentially shift towards a compromise with the public. It is noted that in spite of the existence of a basic direction of action, lobbying may have several ramified goals. Guided by the goals set, lobbyism can manifest itself in various spheres of the political system of society, combining the closely intertwined interests of various actors in the lobbying process, or even — contrasting them.

The impact of land reform on the development of united territorial communities

2020 ◽  
pp. 29-33
Author(s):  
Tamara Smovzhenko ◽  
Oryslava Korkuna ◽  
Ivan Korkuna ◽  
Ulyana Khromyak
Keyword(s):  
Land Reform ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Public Lands ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Practical Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Land Code

Nowadays, according to decentralization and current legislation (Land Code of Ukraine, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine «On Self-Governance»), the public lands have been transferred to the CTCs since 1 February 2018. In 2018/2019, 788 CTCs received communal ownership of 1.68 ha of public lands. According to the Draft Law «On Amendments to Several Legal Documents of Ukraine on Agricultural Lands Turnover», the consolidated territorial communities become the legal entities and can acquire property rights to agricultural land plots. Therefore, transferring the lands to be used by the newly created CTCs is currently an urgent issue that requires extended scientific and practical research. The paper aims to research the role of land reform in Ukraine and its impact on increase of CTCs’ budget revenues. The stages of land reform and the development of the land reform in Ukraine as well as its implementation strategy are outlined. The disparities of the integrated satellite map and the data of the Land Cadaster of Ukraine in terms of unregistered lands are defined. The amount of a CTC budget’s increased revenues due to the reform is estimated. Statistical data on small, medium, and large farmers and their interest in the land reform are analyzed. The terms of selling the land to foreign investors and conditions of participation in land auctions are examined. The mechanisms of land purchase, selling, and lease in line with the land reform are suggested. Generalizing the presented aspects of the land reform in Ukraine and their impact on economic activity of the newly created CTCs, it can be argued that the process is quite positive and necessary for both communities and businesses in order to get additional budget revenues for CTCs. The land reform improves the living standards of Ukrainian people through the disclosure of the country’s agricultural capacity.

Back to the Westminster model? The Brexit process and the UK political system

2021 ◽  
pp. 019251212096737
Author(s):  
Gianfranco Baldini ◽  
Edoardo Bressanelli ◽  
Emanuele Massetti
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Westminster Model ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Quantitative Indicators ◽  
The Impact

This article investigates the impact of Brexit on the British political system. By critically engaging with the conceptualisation of the Westminster model proposed by Arend Lijphart, it analyses the strains of Brexit on three dimensions developed from from Lijphart’s framework: elections and the party system, executive– legislative dynamics and the relationship between central and devolved administrations. Supplementing quantitative indicators with an in-depth qualitative analysis, the article shows that the process of Brexit has ultimately reaffirmed, with some important caveats, key features of the Westminster model: the resilience of the two-party system, executive dominance over Parliament and the unitary character of the political system. Inheriting a context marked by the progressive weakening of key majoritarian features of the political system, the Brexit process has brought back some of the traditional executive power-hoarding dynamics. Yet, this prevailing trend has created strains and resistances that keep the political process open to different developments.

Administrative elites and the crisis: what lies ahead for the senior civil service in Greece?

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 709-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calliope Spanou
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Civil Service Reform ◽  
The Public ◽  
Administrative Elites ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The nature of the relationship between the public administration and politics and the subsequent role of the administration appear to be incompatible with the emergence of an administrative elite. After analysing the reasons for this incompatibility, the article explores the impact of the measures taken in the wake of the economic crisis on the civil service and its reform, and also the prospects for the development of a senior civil service. The key, and also the challenge, to any change in this direction remains the rebalancing of the relationship between the public administration and politics. Points for practitioners What might interest practitioners is the issue of the conditions of effectiveness of civil service reform in times of economic crisis and significant pressure.

scholarly journals Building Enthusiasm and Overcoming ‘Fear’: Engaging with Christian Leaders in an Age of Science

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Reid
Keyword(s):  
Science And Religion ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Christian Leadership ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ministerial Training ◽  
Lay Reader ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Christian Leaders

In popular culture the relationship between science and religion has often been portrayed as one of conflict. The impact of the conflict thesis can be observed in church leaders’ hesitancy in talking about science and religion in the public domain. It was this finding that led Revd Professor David Wilkinson (cosmologist and theologian) and Professor Tom McLeish (physicist and Anglican lay reader) to form the project ‘Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science’ funded by The Templeton World Charity Foundation. The data presented in this article (collected during 2015-2018) is derived from two discreet pieces of research. The first consisting of a survey of over 1,000 church leaders and interviews with 20 senior church leaders and, the second, with a strategic focus on ministerial training comprised of 12 interviews with church educationalists. This paper reflects on the findings from both pieces of research – covering topics such as church leaders’ enthusiasm towards science, how church leaders view the relationship between science and religion and the role of compartmentalisation in ministerial training. The article is unique in providing sociological analysis on the relevant data and including a personal reflection by David Wilkinson – the project’s director – on the implications of the research for ministerial training and science.

scholarly journals The impact of using proportional representation system on the fragmentation of the party system in Algeria. Applied to the elections of the National People’s Assembly (1997–2017)

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Mahmoud Mahgoub
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Effective Number ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Representation System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Number Of Parties ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of using proportional representation system on the fragmentation of the party system in the Algerian political system within the period from 1997 to 2017, in which Algeria has experienced five legislative elections regularly every five years by testing a hypothesis about adopting the proportional representation system on the basis of the closed list during the foregoing legislative elections has obviously influenced the exacerbation of the Algerian party system’s fragmentation, compared to other factors. Design/methodology/approach The essence of the theoretical framework of this study is to address the effect of the electoral system as an independent variable on the party system as a dependent variable. The starting point for that framework is to reassess the “Duverger’s law,” which appeared since the early 1950s and has influenced the foregoing relationship, and then to review the literature on a new phase that tried to provide a more accurate mechanism for determining the number of parties and their relative weight, whether in terms of electoral votes or parliamentary seats. This means that researchers began to use a measure called the effective number of parties (ENP) for Laakso and Taagepera since 1979. The study elaborates the general concepts of the electoral system and the party system. It used Laakso, Taagepera index of the “ENP” to measure the phenomenon of fragmentation party during the five legislative elections from 1997 to 2017 in Algeria. Findings The results of the study reveal that the proportional representation electoral system – beside other factors – had clear impacts on the fragmentation of the Algerian party system by all standards, whether on the level of the apparent rise in the number of the parties represented in the Algerian parliament from 10 parties in 1997 election to 36 parties in 2017 election or according to the index of Laakso and Taagepera (ENP). The average number of effective number of electoral parties in the five elections was around 7.66, and the average number of effective number of parliamentary parties in the five elections was around 4.39, which puts Algeria in an advanced degree of the fragmentation of the party system. Originality/value This study about the phenomenon of the fragmentation of the party system, which is one of the new subjects in the field of comparative politics – globally and in the Arab world. Hence, the value of this study aims to shed light on this mysterious area of science, the fragmentation of the party system in the Algerian political system during the period from 1997 to 2017.

The Role of Innovation Capital on the Public Infrastructure Project Performance in UAE

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sulayem Saleh Musallam Saeed Almuharrami ◽  
Norhidayah Binti Mohamad
Keyword(s):  
Performance Improvement ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Project Performance ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Public Infrastructure ◽  
The Public ◽  
Infrastructure Project ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Innovation Capital

UAE is one of the leading countries in the Middle East that has achieved a rapid growth in its economy over the last decades. In a few years, the UAE has built several infrastructure projects, which reflects the state trends towards improving the provided services to the public. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of innovation capital on the infrastructure project performance in the United Arab Emirates. This study used a quantitative method design. The population of this study comprised all unlisted infrastructure company providers within the UAE, while the sample was 293 employees from these companies. This study relies on the primary data measurements; the questionnaire instrument was used. The current study has found that there is a positive and significant relationship between innovation capital and infrastructure project performance improvement.

COVID-19: Role of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine learning during pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gurpreet Kour Sodhi ◽  
Simarpreet Kaur ◽  
Gurjot Singh Gaba ◽  
Lavish Kansal ◽  
Ashutosh Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Sector ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
The Public ◽  
Fast Pace ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Economic Collapse ◽  
The Government ◽  
Detection And Diagnosis ◽  
The Impact

: The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to a global heath emergency. Emerging from China, it has now been declared as a pandemic. Owing to the fast pace at which it spreads, its control and prevention has now become the greatest challenge. The inner structural analysis of the virus is an important area of research for the invention of the potential drug. The Countries are following different strategies and policies to fight against COVID-19, various schemes have also been employed to cope up with the economic crisis. While the government is struggling to balance between the public health sector and the economic collapse, the researchers and medicine practitioners are inclined towards obtaining treatment and early detection of the deadly disease. Further, the impact of COVID-19 on Dentistry is alarming and posing severe threats to the professionals as well. Now, the technology is helping the countries fight against the disease. ML and AI based applications are substantially aiding the process for detection and diagnosis of novel corona virus. Science of Robotics is another approach followed with an aim to improve patient care.

Mediascape and Movement

2019 ◽  
pp. 100-122
Author(s):  
Francis L. F. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter reviews the relationship between the media and the Umbrella Movement. The mainstream media, aided by digital media outlets and platforms, play the important role of the public monitor in times of major social conflicts, even though the Hong Kong media do so in an environment where partial censorship exists. The impact of digital media in largescale protest movements is similarly multifaceted and contradictory. Digital media empower social protests by promoting oppositional discourses, facilitating mobilization, and contributing to the emergence of connective action. However, they also introduce and exacerbate forces of decentralization that present challenges to movement leaders. Meanwhile, during and after the Umbrella Movement, one can also see how the state has become more proactive in online political communication, thus trying to undermine the oppositional character of the Internet in Hong Kong.

Towards an Assessment of Public Library Value

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-51
Author(s):  
Kristine Paberza
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Free Access ◽  
The Public ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Library Development ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents methodology, early findings, possible applications of results and lessons learnt from the research study “Public libraries: value, trust and satisfaction”. The study was conducted in Latvia as the part of the impact assessment plan within the public library development project “Third Father’s Son”. The project’s goal was to improve people’s quality of life by strengthening the capacities of public libraries to facilitate better and proactive use of resources offered by free access to information technology and the Internet. In this paper, the author introduces practical results from the measurement of use-oriented value of public libraries by using information from the ecology approach and identifying the role of the public library within a context of other information sources used by the public.

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